Penholder.



PATENTED 001*. 31, 1905.

T. G. STRIGKLAND.

PENHOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED APR.21.1905.

Attorneys THEN. I, auwl on. mmulmonmtu w-wcmm 0. t.

' UNITED "su s THERON C. STRICKLAND, OF EAST GREENWICH, RHODE ISLAND.

PENHQLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1905.

Application filed April 21, 1905. Serial No. 256,728.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THERON O. STRIOKLAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Greenwich, in the county of Kent and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Penholder, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to penholders, and has for its object to provide a novel construction which insures the proper inclination of the pen and the correct position of the fingers without interfering with the natural tendency to slip the penholder between the first and second fingers.

A further object of the invention is to provide for securing the firm but comfortable grasp of the fingers upon the holder and at the same time give the holder elasticity to overcome the tendency to grip the same too tightly, and thereby avoid liability of the fingers becoming cramped.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without de parting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the present penholder as it appears when lying upon a desk or the like. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the penholder as it appears when held in the hand in position for writing. Fig. 3 is a plan section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the holder. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the blank from which the guide member of the penholder is formed. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the penholder barrel. Fig. 7 is a detail view of the blank from which the barrel is formed. Fig. 8 is a detail longitudinal sectional view of the penholder. Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the penholder.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in each and every figure of the drawings.

? sential elements, which will be designated generally as a guide or support, a barrel to be carried by the support, and a stem or plunger working in the barrel for clamping a pen-point therein.

The barrel member Aof the present device is formed from a substantially rectangular blank of bendable material, (designated 1 in v Fig. 7 of the drawings,) what will be termed the rear end of the blank having one corner cut away, as at 2, and provided in the other rear corner with a perforation 3. the corresponding opposite corner of the blank being projected, as at 4. This blank is rolled over upon its longitudinal axis to form the tubular barrel, as best indicated in Fig. 6.

that portion of the blank which .is in alinement with the perforation 3 and the projection 4 being substantially flat, as shown at 5 in Fig. 9 of the drawings. The purpose of cutting away one of the rear corners of the blank is to expose the opening 3 when the barrel-is formed, and the projection 4 is bent rearwardly upon the outer side of the barrel to form a hook or spring-clip, as shown in Fig. 6. A stem or plunger B is fitted into the barrel from the rear end thereof and is longer than the barrel in order that it may be projected at both ends thereof. In the front end of this stem or plunger and upon the top side thereof is a pen-point-receiving seat or recess 7, in which is fitted a substantially semitubular or bowed pen-point retainer 8, which is pivoted within the recess, as at 9, and capable of being swung away from the recess to enable the placing of a pen-point 10 therein, after which the pen-point retainer is returned to its normal position across the rear end of the penpoint, and then the plunger or stem 6 is withdrawn through the barrel, so as to bring the pen-point retainer into theloarrel, and thereby be held down against the pen-point to prevent displacement thereof. By pushing forwardly upon the stem or plunger until the pen-point retainer is projected beyond the barrel the penpoint will be automatically ejected, thereby obviating the nuisance of soiling the fingers when removing a pen-point. The support for the barrel is formed from a blank (designated 0) which has its lower edge bent into a tubular base 11, which tapers forwardly and is provided at its rear end with a perforation 12, with which the perforation 3 of the barrel A is designed to register for the reception of a pivotal connection '13, the spring clip or hook 4 at the front of the barrel being designed to embrace a projection 14: upon the front of thetubular base 11, so as to normally hold the barrel in parallelism withthe base, and therefore inclined rearwardly away from the upstanding body portion'of the guide member. The forward portion of the guide member is slit and bent laterally across the base 11 and barrel Ato form a finger-rest 15, and in rear thereof another finger-rest 16 is bent upwardly for the reception of the index-finger, as shown in Fig. 2. Between the finger-rest 16 and the rear edge of the upstanding body portion of the guide the blank is slit vertically, with that portion of the blank in rear of the slit bent over the base, as at 17, and that portion of the blank between the members 16 and 17 bent in the opposite direction therefrom, as'at 18, to accommodate the middle finger. Below the finger-rests and 16 and opposite the interval between these members the blank is slit and bent toward the outer side thereof to form a finger-hold 19, against the front face of which the end of the middle finger is designed to bear, it of course being understood that the upstanding wing portion 20 of the guard is received between v the index and middle fingers.

When the present device is properly held in the hand, as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the thumb comes in the correct position against the barrel A, and the latter is maintained at the correct transverse and vertical angle without any effort upon the part of the writer. Moreover, the pen is maintained in this position without necessitatinga tight grip of the fingers, and therefore without liability of the hand becoming cramped, as the guidewing 20 fits easily between the index and middle fingers, the index-finger rests upon the finger-supports 15 and 16, the middle finger engages the finger-hold 18 and 19, and the thumb engages the barrel to prevent the device from falling out of the hand.

When it is desired to dip the pen-pointinto an ordinary ink-bottle, the front end of the barrel is disengaged from thebase by manipulation of the thumb upon the barrel and then the latter is swung downwardly upon its pivotal connection 13 with the base into the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, whereupon the forward end portion of the barrel is clear of the guide member and may be inserted into the neck of an ink-bottle, so as to recharge the pen-point Without removing or shifting the position of the guide member.

Upon reference to Figs. 1 and 1 of the drawings it will be noted that when the device is placed upon a desk or the likethe guidemember stands in an upright position in readiness to receive the fingers for picking up the device, while at the same time the pen-point is held out of contact with the desk, which are very important features over an ordinary penholder. It should also be noted that in case the barrel is accidentally dipped too deeply into the ink the construction of the device is such as not to permit the fingers to be soiled, inasmuch as the fingers touch the finger-rest or brace and not the barrel, while the thumb engages the holder far enough to the rear to be out of the way. It should be noted, moreover, that whereas adepression may beformed in the plunger to constitute a seat for the penpoint the latter may be seated directly on the plunger-stem, where it will be held firmly by the pressure of the barrel without the countersinking or cutting of the former.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A penholder having an upstanding guide member formed to fit between the index and middle fingers, said guide member being provided upon one side with a finger-support for the reception of the index-finger and upon its opposite side with a finger-grip for engagement by the middle finger.

2. A penholder having an upstanding guide member formed to fit between the index and middle fingers and cleft to form a finger-support which is bent laterally outward across the top of the penholder for the reception of the index-finger.

3. A penholder having an upstanding guide member formed to fit between the index and middle fingers and cleft to form a finger-grip which is bent laterally outward from the guide member.

1. A penholder having an upstanding guide member-formed to fit between the index and middle fingers and cleft to form a finger-support and a finger-grip which are bent outwardly at opposite sides of the guide member.

5. A penholder having an upstanding guide member which is formed to fit between the index and middle fingers, the forward portion of the guide being cleft to form finger-supports which are bent laterally outward from the holder, the rear portion of the guide be- IIG ing cleft through its upper edge with that ITS '7. A device of the class described comprismy own I have hereto aifixed my signature in gngban upstaindin ggl guide1 megiliml formed t3, the presence of two witnesses.

t etween tie in eX an mi e ngers, an w a penholder pivoted to the guide member and THERON STRHJKLAND' provided with a spring-clip detachably en- Witnesses:

gaging the guide member. v FREDERICK C. GREENE, In testimony that I claim the foregoing as WILLIAM L. SHARPE. 

